Lucky Man
by t-smitts
Summary: The squad reopens the case of a friendly but accident prone college student when his roommate discovers evidence that his death in a fall may not have been an accident after all. Revised slightly. Read and review, please!
1. Chapter 1

Lucky Man

The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.

_October 15, 2004_

_Hurley's wasn't the best pizza place in Philly, not by a long shot. It did, however, have the virtue of being located on the campus of Moncton University, which meant there was always a healthy flow of hungry students to ensure it stayed open longer than it would have almost anywhere else._

_It also provided employment for a number of those students, including a sophomore by the name of Brian Halley. Brian was a decent-looking young fellow though certainly not the type to stand out in a crowd. If anyone did notice him it tended to be because he was tripping over something or dropping something, which unfortunately tended to be quite often with Brian. _

_Despite assurances from some of his friends that it was all in his head, Brian knew better. It was just the reality of being born with bad luck. Like his parents before him, it was just something he'd accepted and learned to live with._

_That had changed recently, however._

_After changing out of his server's uniform, Brian walked out of the staff room to find Mike Kelowitz there waiting for him. Despite being lifelong friends and dorm roommates, the two couldn't have been more different. Whereas Brian couldn't go near a ball without hurting himself, Mike's life practically revolved around sports. The small part that didn't tended to be reserved for whatever beautiful girl Mike had managed to pick up. Brian, on the other hand had always seemed the perpetual wallflower, never able to find a girl who would even give him the time of day._

_That had changed recently as well._

_Mike grinned as Brian approached. "Hey, man, good timing. I figured if you were getting off soon, we could hang out tonight."_

_Brian shrugged. "Uhhhh, not tonight man. I gotta get some work done in the film room, and then I've... I've got plans."_

_Mike's eyes squinted. "Plans? What, like a date?"_

_Brian shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. Kind of."_

_Mike laughed and gave Brian a friendly slap on the arm. "All right! The man's finally got himself a girl! So who's the lucky lady? Anyone I know?"_

_Brian rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, like I'm really gonna tell you."_

_"Come on!"_

_"No, you know what? I really like this girl and it's still kind of early and I don't want to do anything to jinx it."_

_Mike raised his eyebrows. "So, I'm the jinx now? No more 'hard-luck Halley'? This is the new Brian I've heard so much about?"_

_Brian nodded his head. "Hard-luck Halley is no more. And I don't just mean with the girl. Things are finally changing for the better for me. You'll see."_

_Mike leaned back. "You're really serious about this?"_

_Brian offered a sincere smile. "Swear to God, man, I feel like the luckiest man alive."_

_Mike chuckled, patting Brian on the back as the two walked out._

* * *

Brian lay sprawled across the hallway floor, a pool of blood growing around his head. His lifeless eyes stared up at the second floor walkway from which he'd fallen and at the figure looking down on him from the walkway. The figure then ran off, leaving Brian alone...

* * *

Detective Lilly Rush looked down at the report in her hand while she and her partner Scotty Valens listened to the young man sitting on the other side of the desk. 

"I'm not even sure if it means anything." Mike said. "It could just be a coincidence."

Lilly glanced at the report again. "The report says your roommate died just outside the University film lab when he fell from a second story walkway. There were no signs of foul play, plus the floor was wet. It looked like he just slipped."

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, that's I thought at the time too. I mean for one thing, Brian was always a little bit of a klutz. Everyone in high school called him 'hard-luck Halley'. Besides that though, I can't think of anyone who want to hurt him. He was the nicest guy, not an enemy in the world."

Scotty nodded. "Okay, so you figure it was accident like everyone else. Then yesterday, something changes."

Mike nodded. "Brian's parents died a few years ago and he really didn't have any other family, so they just gave most of his stuff to goodwill. I held on to one box of stuff, though, cause I'd like a few things to remember him by. Anyway, yesterday I see it and get all nostalgic, so I look though it. One of the things I find is this schedule book of his, you know for remembering stuff you gotta do on a certain date 'n stuff"

Lilly suppressed a smile and nodded as though she'd never heard of one of those.

"Anyway, I'm looking though this and I see on October 15, the day he died, he wrote '8 P.M.: Don't be late!' in these big underlined letters." He pulled the book from his pocket and showed them the page.

Mike looked at both the detectives solemnly. "Brian was found dead a little after 8 P.M. That afternoon he'd told me he was doing some work in the film room and then he had a date that night. He never told me with who though."

Lilly leaned closer. "You know, Mike, it's possible your friend was just rushing out of the school because he was late and ended up slipping and falling."

Mike sighed. "I know, I know. It's just the last few days he wasn't this clumsy, awkward guy he used to be. Looking back, he really seemed like a new man and I just don't see him rushing somewhere and slipping on a wet floor."

Lilly and Scotty looked at each other as Mike continued. "The last time I saw him, he said he was the luckiest man alive." Mike looked down sadly. "I guess his luck ran out."

COLD CASE


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lilly looked at Mike thoughtfully. "Okay, you said you don't know who this girl was that Brian was seeing. Can you think of who might?"

Mike nodded. "Jamie Chen. I was the friend he hung out with and shared a dorm room with but she was the one he really confided in."

"You were friends, the three of you?" Scotty asked.

"Uhhh... well we were all part of this group of friends in high school but in college we started doing our own thing and sorta drifted apart. I was into sports, Jamie was into saving the planet, and Brian was into film-making. Brian did keep in touch with everyone though." Mike looked down for a moment, then up again. "You know now that I think about it, I think they might have been talking about that at lunch the day before he died. I sort of walked in on their conversation but I thought they were talking about her love life." Mike shrugged. "I was kind of a dick back then."

* * *

_Mike walked into Hurley's, maneuvering past the dozens of students eating on their lunch breaks, and scanned around the room until he saw Brian sitting at one of the corner tables.._

_Brian didn't notice Mike approaching and continued talking to the young Asian woman sitting across the table. "No, but what do you think of Hennessy's? It's a little pricey but it's a really nice setting."_

_Jamie nodded. "I like it. It sounds really romantic."_

_Mike swaggered around the table and took a seat next to Brian, immediately earning a glare from Jamie._

_"Oh look who's here!" she said sarcastically. "Wherever there's a gathering he's not invited to, Mike Kelowitz will be there!"_

_Brian rolled his eyes as Mike shrugged. "Jamie, great to see you too. Don't you have some endangered Alaskan whale to save or something?"_

_"Do you have useful reason to be here, Mike?"_

_Mike gestured to Brian. "Well, I was going to join my friend here for lunch but apparently I'm not wanted. You know we all used to eat here all the time at the start of last year, if you remember. Right here at this same table."_

_Jamie continued to glare at Mike. "Well some of us grow up. I wouldn't expect you to understand."_

_Mike leaned back in his chair. "So who's the guy you're takin' to Hennessy's? I surprised you'd want to go somewhere that isn't covered in hemp and tofu."_

_Brian leaned forward. "Actually, it's for--"_

_"None of your business!" Jamie snapped at Mike, quickly shooting Brian a look. Brian leaned back in his seat and said nothing._

_Jamie sighed and stood up. "I got to get going. Don't tell him anything!" She said to Brian, gesturing at Mike before walking off._

* * *

"You and this Jamie girl sure didn't get along." Scotty said.

Mike chucked. "Like I said, we were friends in high school but when we got to college we drifted apart. If you want to talk to her, though, I can let her know."

"You two still keep in touch?" Lilly asked, surprised.

Mike began to blush. "Yeah, actually we're uhhh, kind of dating now. I guess you could say we drifted back together."

Lilly and Scotty looked at each other and tried not to laugh.

* * *

Jamie gave Detectives Nick Vera and Kat Miller a warm smile as she walked into the squad room. "Me and Mike?" She said, sitting down. "Yeah, not an obvious match I guess but Brian meant a lot to both of us, so we tried to be there for each other after he died." She shrugged. "Misery loves company." Her expression turned serious as she looked at Kat and Vera. "So you really think Brian might have been killed?"

"We're trying to find that out" Kat said. "Can you think of anyone who might have had reason to want to hurt him?"

Jamie appeared genuinely surprised at the question. "Brian? No, no."

"Mike said Brian was seeing someone when he died." Kat said. "Did he ever tell you who she was?"

"Well he wouldn't tell me her name," Jamie started, "but he didn't say no when I asked him if it was anyone I know, and..."

"And you think you might have an idea who that might be?" Vera asked.

Jamie nodded and smiled. "Allison Parks. She went to the same high school as us, but she was a year older than us and fit in more with the popular, blonde, cheerleader-type crowds." She chuckled. "Brian had a crush on her all through high school. He never could work up the guts to say more than two words to her though. It was all that stuff about him having bad luck, which personally, I never bought into."

Vera nodded. "But he finally worked up the guts in college?"

"Not at first. He was still terrified of her and couldn't say a word to her. Not until about two weeks before he died."

"So what changed?" Vera asked.

Jamie chuckled. "What changed was I finally gave him a kick in the butt for his own good."

* * *

_Sitting in their familiar corner table at Hurley's, Jamie watched as Brian bit into antother slice of pizza. She was amazed how often he could eat here and not get sick of it._

_"So how's the petition coming?" Brian asked when he finally stopped eating._

_Jamie nodded. "Good, good. I think we're going to have enough signatures to..." she trailed off once she noticed Brian was no longer looking at her. Instead his gaze was fixated on the blonde-haired girl talking to some other students on the other side of the restaurant._

_Jamie turned around to see what he was looking at and rolled her eyes. "Oh, God, Brian, this is getting ridiculous. Just go over there and talk to her already."_

_Brian turned back to Jamie, shooting her a look of disbelief. "Yeah, sure. Why not? I'll just go over there and ask Allison Parks out. Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how out of my league she is?"_

_Jamie laughed. "Look, Brian, we're not in high school anymore. You've got to get past this mentality that we're all restricted to these social groups that never interact with each other."_

_Brian shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I just don't want to, all right?"_

_Jamie gave him a hard stare. "You know what? It's not all right. Now I want you to get up, go over there, and don't come back until you've struck up a real conversation with her."_

_Brian continued to squirm while Jamie stared him down until he finally sighed and stood up. Walking over towards Allison, he made it about three-quarters of the way there before colliding with a waitress carrying a tray of food. Brian and the girl fell to the floor with a large plate of and the contents of a glass of root beer landing on Brian. The waitress apologized and rushed off to get some napkins while Brian was left on his knees picking off the pasta that was stuck to the grave on his shirt._

_"Hard-luck Halley." Brian whispered to himself, sighing._

_Allison and a blonde-haired young man she'd been sitting with rushed over. "Oh my God! Are you all right?" Allison asked._

_Brian looked up at them, then back down at his food-covered shirt. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He answered, sighing as the young man helped him up._

_Allison studied Brian's face once was on his feet. "Hey, you look familiar. Did you go to Ben Franklin High?"_

_Brian smiled and nodded nervously. "Yeah I- I did. Brian Halley, class of 2003."_

_Allison smiled, shaking his hand. "Right. Allison Parks. I graduated the year before that." She turned to the blonde haired young man. "Actually, Gary, you two would have been in the same grade, right?"_

_The young man nodded. "Yeah, right. I'm Gary Parks. Didn't we have Bio together?"_

_Brian smiled more confidently, shaking Gary's hand. "You're right! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you for a second." He looked at Allison, then back at Gary. "You're brother and sister?"_

_Allison and Gary nodded._

_Brian chuckled. "I'm sorry, it's just for a second I thought you were boyfriend and girlfriend."_

_Allison and Gary looked at each other and laughed. "No!" Gary said, gesturing to his sister. "Ally here's not even seeing anyone right now!" Allison immediately glared at her brother and gave him a back-handed slap in the chest. "Sorry." He said, timidly._

_Allison turned back to Brian. "So what are you taking?"_

_"Film-making."_

_"Really? That's sounds interesting."_

_Brian nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it is." He gestured to the table they'd been sitting at. "It's a lot of fun. I'd love to tell you about it."_

_Gary sat back down and gestured to one of the empty chairs. "Sure, have a seat." Allison gave Brian a smile as he joined them at the table._

_Brian took a quick glance back at Jamie, who was smiling proudly and mouthed a silent "Yes!"._

* * *

Vera nodded. "So you think this Allison girl was the girl he was seeing when he died?"

Jamie cocked her head. "Well I can't say for sure. Brian really wasn't the type to kiss and tell, but I know for a fact they had lunch together for the rest of the week and spent a lot of time together besides that."

Kat nodded. "Okay, thanks, Jamie."

"Brian was one of the good ones." Jamie said wistfully. "I'd like to think he got to be with his dream girl, if only at the end."

* * *

In the editor's office of the Uniter, the Moncton campus newspaper, Allison shook her head sadly.

"Yeah," she said to Lilly and Detectives Will Jeffries. "Brian was a real sweetheart. Maybe not the type I would've gone for in high school, but I like to think I've done a little growing up since then."

"Brian's told his roommate he had a date the day he died." Jeffries said. "His schedule book says he had something planned at 8 P.M. that night. Do you have any idea what that was?"

Allison paused for a moment, then nodded. "Well, I mean I talked to him earlier that day, talked about meeting up at my place around eight when he was done in the film lab." She shrugged. "I guess he was just trying to be punctual."

There was a knock at the door and in popped the head of Gary Parks. "Hey, sis, you ready for lunch? We--" He stopped as he noticed Jeffries and Miller. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Allison smiled. "No, it's all right. These detectives were just asking some follow-up questions about what happened with Brian."

"Oh yeah?" Gary raised his eyebrows and entered the rest of the way into the office. "I still can't believe what happened. Brian and I were in Bio together in high school. We didn't really get to be friends, though, until he and Ally here started seeing each other."

Jeffries nodded. "Yeah, from what we've heard it seems like Brian got along with everyone."

Allison's smile faded slightly. "Well, not everyone."

"What do you mean?" Lilly asked.

Allison sighed. "Well, I don't know if this means anything, but there was a little incident about a week before he died"

* * *

_Walking into the chemistry lab, Brian and Allison spotted Gary conferring with a professor at one of the tables surrounded by test tubes. Brian gave him a nod as Gary looked up to see them._

_"Hey!" Allison said. "We were just going to see if you wanted to join us for lunch."_

_The professor, a tall, handsome fellow of about forty, stood up, giving Brian and Allison a smile. "Actually, if it's all right, we were just running over some test results right now."_

_Gary shrugged. "The price of being a research assistant."_

_Allison offered the professor a warm smile. "Aw, please? We'll have him back in twenty minutes. I promise."_

_The professor rolled his eyes and sighed with a smile. "Well, all right."_

_Brian looked at Allison, chuckling, then offered the professor his hand. "I'm Brian Halley."_

_The professor shook it firmly. "Dr. Ron Hunter, assistant head of the chemistry department."_

_Brian nodded, looking around the room. "Good to meet you. You know Gary told me a little about what you're working on here and--" Brian was interrupted as his attempt to gesture to another table knocked over a number of glass tubes, which shattered on the floor._

_"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm a little clumsy!" Brian exclaimed, looking down at the shards of glass on the floor._

_Dr. Hunter put a hand up while reaching for a dustpan and brush hanging on the wall. "It's all right. Test tubes get broken in here all the time." _

_Brian backed away from the table nervously, causing his arm to bump a glass jar on another table, which fell to the floor, shattering._

_Brian cringed at the broken jar. "Maybe I should get out of here before I do anymore damage." He quickly walked out of the lab with Allison and Gary on either side._

_"Sorry about what happened back there." Brian said to Gary, wincing as he gestured back to the lab._

_Gary shook his head, chuckling. "Don't worry about it. I guess you never were the chemistry type."_

_Brian smiled, shaking his head. "No. I know it a little but the truth is I never would've passed in high school without one of my friends helping me." Brian spotted a young woman in a white lab coat walking towards them and smiled. "Oh! Speak of the devil! Hey, Debbie!" He called her over._

_Debbie was short, with shoulder-length dark hair. A number of handmade bracelets on her wrists peeked out from under the sleeves of her lab coat, an effort to show some style even in the world of science. While Brian greeted her with a smile, it quickly faded once he saw the cold stare she was fixing each of them._

_"You all right, Deb?" He asked._

_"I heard it, but I didn't believe it." Debbie glared at Brian. "I can't believe you've actually sunk to hanging around with these two." She gestured at Allison and Gary. "I thought you had better standards than that, Brian."_

_Gary put his hands to his head. "Can you give it a rest for one day, Debbie? You didn't the job. Get over it!"_

_Brian looked awkwardly at the other three students. "Um, obviously, I'm in the middle of something here." He tried to give Debbie a friendly look. "Look, Deb, I know we haven't seen much of each other the past year but-"_

_Debbie put her hands up. "You know what, Brian? Forget it. Have a lot of fun with these two. Just remember, you hang around with people like this, you're headed for a fall." Before he could respond, she stormed off._

* * *

"Brian and this Debbie girl knew each other?" Lilly asked.

Allison rolled her eyes. "Debbie Rosenberg. I think they used to be friends in high school or something. I'm not sure why. She's a bitter, mousy, little bitch who attacked Gary and I every chance she got."

"What job was she talking about?"

Gary sighed. "Every year Dr. Hunter picks one chemistry student to work as a research assistant. You get access to better equipment, field studies, things like that, so it's pretty competitive. I got the job a year and a half ago and Debbie didn't take it well."

Allison shook her head in disbelief. "She was convinced I was sleeping with Gary's professor, which I wasn't, and that I convinced him to give Gary the job, which I didn't."

Gary shrugged. "So basically she blamed us and I guess Brian got some of the spillover. But I mean, I can't see her killing someone. Certainly not Brian."

Lilly looked at Jeffries. "Still, interesting choice of words, though: 'headed for a fall.'"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Vera walked into the squad room shaking his head. "I went over the CSU's report again. There's nothing suggesting anyone else was there at the time. Doesn't mean somebody wasn't there but..."

"...but we can't prove anyone else was there, meaning this really might have been an accident, for all we know." Jeffries finished.

Lt. John Stillman, the squad commander, sighed. "All right then. You two go have a talk with this Debbie girl." He said to Lilly and Scotty. "If nothing pans out, I'm writing this one off as an accident and we're moving on."

Lilly nodded solemnly as she and Scotty got up and headed out.

"So what do you think, accident?" Scotty asked as he and Lilly headed down the hallway.

Lilly shook her head. "I don't know. Let's just hope Debbie Rosenberg can shed some light on this."

Debbie and the two detectives sat around the living room of her apartment. Aside from cutting her dark hair to chin-length in the year and a half since Brian's death, she looked very much the same. She eyed the detectives nervously.

"I'm not sure what you're asking me." She said.

"We're just trying to get a better understanding of the situation." Lilly said. "Now we heard that you and Brian weren't getting along at the time he died, that the two of you had argument about a week before his death, and that you didn't approve him seeing Allison."

Debbie shot her a look of disbelief. "What? Where did you hear that?"

Scotty leaned forward in his chair. "That wasn't the case?"

Debbie turned her look towards Scotty. "No, of course not. I was angry when I found out he was seeing her because I knew she was just using him."

"Using him?" Lilly asked.

Debbie nodded. "She just went out in public with him because she didn't want anyone finding out she was sleeping with me and Gary's pig of a professor, Dr. Hunter." She sighed. "And no, I can't prove it, and yes, I'm sure they probably told you I had a grudge with them because Gary got the assistant's job, but I swear that's the truth."

Lilly nodded. "Did Brian ever find out about this?"

"Yeah, he did." Debbie said. "I'm not sure how he found out but we talked at Hurley's the night after and he made it clear that he knew." A sad smile passed over her face. "We talked about a lot of things that night."

* * *

_Brian didn't normally have to check his work schedule this late in the week, but that was before he'd washed his pants with his schedule still in the pocket. Now that he had it written down again, he didn't plan on staying. Somebody was likely to spoil his weekend by asking him to cover a shift or something. Not that he had any plans, he just wasn't the mood after what he'd seen._

_He was halfway from the staff room to the front door when he spotted Debbie sitting alone at the booth in the corner. Not sure if she was still mad at him, he was about to walk out without saying anything until he saw her start to sob. Sighing, he shook his head and walked over to her table._

_"Deb?" He asked awkwardly._

_Debbie immediately looked up, wiping her eyes, and forcing a smile. "Brian, hey! I... I didn't think you were on tonight."_

_"I'm not. I was just checking my schedule for next week." He inched closer. "Is everything all right?"_

_She looked at him for a moment then quickly shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm fine." She saw his concerned look and let her guard down slightly. "It's just... getting that assistant's job meant so much to me. I worked so hard to get picked for that."_

_Brian sighed and sat down next to her. "Oh, I heard about that." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Deb."_

_Looking down, she started to sob again. Brian looked at her nervously for a moment, then pulled her into a hug. She cried on his shoulder for a few minutes while he stroked her hair and whispered that it was all right._

_"I'm so sorry about what I said yesterday." She finally said after a few minutes, her head still on his shoulder._

_Brian looked down sadly. "No, no. You were right. I don't think I've been a very good friend lately."_

_Debbie pulled back and looked at him. "No, Brian, I--"_

_"No, I mean it." He continued. "I mean, we hardly see each other anymore, and..." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "You were right about Allison. You were right about everything."_

_She leaned in closer, her eyes concerned. "Why? What happened."_

_He sighed again and shook his head. "It's a long story. I don't really want get into that right now. Just my luck, I guess. Hard-luck Halley, remember?" He gestured towards her slightly. "Guess it's starting to rub off you too."_

_Her expression turned serious and she gave him a look he couldn't turn away from. "Hey. Listen to me, all right? High school was hell for me. It was absolute hell. But despite all the arrogant teachers, obnoxious jocks, and stuck-up prom queens, I knew I could get through it because I knew I always had you to turn to."_

_Brian looked at her intently as she continued. "I mean all those lunches together. All those evening we just hung out together, you, me, Jamie, and, hell, even Mike, I wouldn't trade that for anything. But especially you, Brian, you were always there for me, just like you're here for me now." She put her hand on his cheek and smiled. "You're my good luck charm." She whispered._

_A sincere smile passed over Brian's face and she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Their eyes met as she was pulling back and suddenly Brian found himself pressing his lips against hers. The kiss lasted a few moments before Brian pulled himself back, a stunned look on his face._

_"I'm sorry." He stammered. "I don't... I don't know why I did that. I'm sorry."_

_"I'm not." She replied after a moment, surprised to hear herself saying that. "Believe it or not, it was actually the highlight of my week."_

_Both laughed nervously and looked at each other for a moment before they found themselves leaning into another kiss..._

* * *

Lilly looked at Debbie for a moment before speaking. "You were the girl Brian was seeing before he died?"

The sad smile remained fixed on Debbie's face. "I knew Brian forever and never would've imagined the two of us together in a million years, but the truth is it was happiest week of my life." She looked at Lilly, the sadness evident in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what it's like to find the man of your dreams, only to lose him?"

"You never told anyone about the two of you?" Lilly asked.

Debbie shook her head. "We thought it'd be kind of awkward telling our friends so we decided to hold off on telling anyone for a while."

Lilly leaned in closer. "I'm sorry to have to ask but where were you the night Brian died?"

"I was at this fancy restaurant, Hennessy's. Way more expensive than he could afford but he'd said he wanted to take me out on a real date. We had an eight o'clock reservation."

Scotty looked at Lilly. "8 P.M., don't be late." He said, quoting Brian's schedule book.

"There was one strange thing though. He told me he was going to talk to Dr. Hunter, try to get him to give me the assistant's job after all. I don't know what he thought he could say. I mean Brian wasn't even in chemistry, he was a film student. I asked him about it and he just said he was going to talk to Mr. Garcia."

Who's Mr. Garcia?" Lilly asked.

"Tony Garcia, Brian's film-making teacher."

"What did Brian think he could do?"

Debbie shrugged. "I don't know. He just said it like he had some sort of leverage. Whatever he thought he had, it didn't work. Gary still got the job. Turns out it was just as well, though. I've got some really great internships lined up. I'm doing fine, but it was still sweet of him to try."

Lilly nodded and smiled as she offered Debbie her card. "All right, Debbie. Thanks for your help."

Debbie didn't move as the two detectives got up. "You know I waited for him at that restaurant for over an hour. I thought he stood me up." She didn't sob but tears flowed silently down her face. "The next morning someone told me some student had been in some sort of accident in the film lab. They didn't know who but the second I heard that, I knew."

She looked up at Lilly while Lilly offered her a sympathetic gaze in return. "If somebody hurt Brian, you need to find out who. He deserves that much."

* * *

Lilly shook her head at they exited the apartment building. "Sure sounded sincere enough to me."

"Which means Allison and Gary were lying." Scotty added. "Either way, we still can't prove Brian was even murdered."

Lilly nodded. "Maybe Mr. Garcia can point us in the right direction."

* * *

In this thirties, the balding, portly, Tony Garcia looked better suited to a career behind the camera rather than in front of it. Still, his eyes conveyed a warmth and intelligence that made him somewhat disarming. Sitting in his office, he nodded wistfully at the mention of Brian's name.

"Yup, Brian Halley. I had for the first year class, then the second year class before he died about month into it. Shame too. He was a real natural with a lighting, angles, camera work. He was a little shy but he had some real potential."

"Brian said he was going to talk to you about getting Dr. Hunter to give his friend a job." Jeffries said.

Garcia looked at him, confused. "Ron Hunter from chemistry? No, Brian never said about him." He snorted. "I don't know what he thought I could say to that prick anyway."

"But you talked to him the day before he died." Vera said.

Garcia nodded. "Yeah, late afternoon. I guess that was the last time I saw him. He was acting kind of strange."

* * *

_Garcia was stacking some film cases when he spotted Brian walking into the film lab._

_"Hey there." He said, giving Brian a warm smile. "Anything you need?"_

_Brian paused a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering if I can do some work in the lab tomorrow night. I thought I'd try to get that assignment for next week done early" He smiled. "I might have some plans for the weekend with this girl I've been seeing."_

_Garcia shrugged. "Sure, no problem. I'll leave the door open. Just make sure you close it when you're done. Anything else?"_

_Brian swallowed hard, then continued. "Uhhh... actually yeah. Do you have the tape from when I took the ZR-20 last week?"_

_"Yeah, should still be in there. You were the last one to have it."_

_Brian shifted nervously. "Do you think I could borrow the tape? I... I just wanted to look over the stuff I shot some more."_

_Garcia nodded, gesturing to the small camera plugged in at a desk In the corner of the room. "Sure, it's right there."_

_Brian nodded, heading over to the camera and ejecting the mini-DV tape inside._

_Garcia looked him over curiously. "You all right, Brian?"_

_Brian looked up at him quickly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Why?"_

_"You just seem a little distracted."_

_Brian sighed. "Sorry. I was just kind of dealing with a situation. I just hope I'm doing the right thing here. It's fine though." He smiled nervously, trying to look reassuring._

_Garcia nodded. "Something school related?"_

_"I uhhh... I guess you could say that." Brian said. "Like I said, it's fine though." _

_Brian looked down at the tape and frowned, as though it had some sort of stain on it. "At least something good'll come of this." He muttered._

_"What?"_

_"Nothing." Brian quickly answered. "Anyway, thanks for the use of the lab and the tape. I'll see you on Monday." Garcia gave him a smile as Brian waved and quickly exited the lab._

* * *

"Do you know what was on that tape?" Vera asked.

Garcia shook his head. "I figured it was just random footage. It was early in the year and I had each student take the camera out and film some stuff for a day, you know? Just so get they used to working with it. Brian was the last one to take it out. I never got the tape back, so wherever his stuff is, it must be there."

Vera looked at Jeffries, then back at Garcia. "Good to know. Thanks."

"Hey, you got any idea what was on it?" Garcia asked.

Jeffries' eyebrows raised slightly. "Well, we won't know for sure until we see it, but I'm starting to get an idea."

* * *

Mike and Jamie rushed into the squad, Mike carrying an open shoe box filled with tapes of various sizes and formats.

"These are all Brian's tapes." Jamie said to the detectives as Mike set the box down on a desk and started digging through it.

"Mr. Garcia said it was a mini-DV tape, right?" Lilly asked.

Vera shrugged. "Yeah, whatever that is. All I know is VHS and Beta."

Mike pulled out a small tape with the correct label on it and held it up proudly. Lilly smiled and took the tape from him. "All right. Let's see what was so important on this tape."

* * *

The first ten minutes of footage showed nothing of use. Brian was simply carrying down the hallway of the university, which appeared to be deserted at the hour he was filming, and occasionally turning the camera back towards himself to explain where on campus he was. Seeing his face on the TV screen elicited sad smiles from Mike and Jamie, who'd asked to sit in.

Around the ten minute mark, Brian camera back to him again. "All right, this is the chemistry department." He said. "I know a couple of people who work around here."

He continued down the hallway until he spotted one office door open a crack.

"Ah, here's the office of Dr. Hunter, who seems to be burning the candle at both ends." He whispered, moving towards the open door. "I wonder if he wouldn't mind saying--"

Brian's voice on the screen stopped abruptly and what he saw slowly came into view. Dr. Hunter was at his desk, while sitting on his lap, arms around him, lips pressed against his, was Allison Parks. The view lasted only for a few seconds before the camera turned upwards, revealing Brian's distraught face for an instant before the camera shut off.

"Oh my God!" Jamie whispered, her hand to her mouth.

Scotty leaned back in his chair. "Now that'd definitely work as leverage. "

Lilly kept her eyes on the screen. "Or a motive for murder."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dr. Ron Hunter looked up at Lilly and Vera, shifting in his seat as he looked from one detective to another.

Vera shook her head, while looking at the document in front of her. "You're got an interesting work record, Doc. Seems you had a little problem keeping your hands to yourself at your last job."

Hunter quickly pointed a finger at Lilly. "That accusation was completely false! She was an angry, disgruntled young woman who lashed out because I rejected her advances!"

"I'm having a little trouble believing that." Lilly said. "Especially since we know you didn't reject Allison Parks' advances."

"Is that what she told you?" Hunter sneered.

"No, that's what the videotape Brian had of the two of you together told us" Vera said.

"You have that?" Hunter suddenly looked at Vera, his look of indignance replaced by one of fear. "Who else knows about that tape?"

"I'd be a little more worried about being the prime suspect in a murder." Lilly snapped.

"Murder?" Hunter cried. "That's ridiculous! I barely knew that kid!"

"Well, he sure knew about you." Lilly continued. "Brian told Debbie Rosenberg he had some leverage to make you give the research assistant's job to her instead of Allison's brother. Did Brian try to blackmail you with that tape, and then you decide to throw him over a walkway?"

Hunter sat there, his mouth agape. "That's insane!"

"You really expect us to believe Brian wasn't trying to blackmail you?" Vera asked.

Hunter looked back at Vera, then sighed. "He showed up at my office the night before he died."

* * *

_Dr. Hunter perked up at the knock of the door. Allison said she was going out with friends that night. Who else could it be at this hour?_

_"Come in." He said. His eyes betrayed his surprise slightly when he saw who it was. The young man who entered was about the last person he expected to see. "Oh, hello. Brian, isn't it? What can I do for you?"_

_Brian glared at Hunter, and without a word, sat in the chair across from Hunter's desk. "Dr. Hunter, I don't know if you know, but I'm a film student. I've done a lot of camera work."_

_Hunter leaned back in his chair. "I'm not sure I'm following you."_

_Brian looked slightly nervous, but steeled himself and continued. "All right, then let me spell it out for you. Earlier in the week, I was down here trying out one of the cameras. Your door was open a crack and without even meaning to, I picked up a real nice shot of Allison and you together."_

_Hunter's face maintained it's composure, even as it drained of color. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_Brian's eyes narrowed. "I think you do. You knew damn well I was seeing her."_

_"Look if this is some sort of jealous boyfriend situation--"_

_Brian put up his hand. "No, no. You know what, I don't even care. If that's the kind of person she is, I don't want anything to do with her. I don't care that you're a married man, or how many times you've done this with students. One thing I do have a problem with, though, is you basing who gets ahead in your class on whose sister you're screwing."_

_Hunter looked confused. "Wait, this is about Gary getting the assistant's job?"_

_Brian's look grew angrier. "Yeah, it is! Debbie's twice as smart and works ten times as hard. Trust me, I've seen the work she's done in class. She deserved that job but instead you gave it to Gary so could impress Allison. Well, you know what? Now you're gonna make that right. I want you to give that job to her. Tell them you've reconsidered or something, whatever. Just do it, otherwise that tape I made the other night is gonna find its way into the Dean's mailbox!"_

_"Wait a minute! If you think I'm going to be coerced into changing my decision--"_

_"Oh, don't you dare take some moral high ground with me!" Brian snapped. "Not after what you've done! Now I'm gonna check with Debbie on Monday to see if you changed your mind. If I like what I hear, I'll give you the tape. If not, you're probably gonna need to start updating your resume, got it?"_

_Hunter squared his jaw and remained silent for a few seconds. "Fine." He finally answered between his teeth. "Is there anything else?" He asked sarcastically._

_"Yeah." Brian spat as he got up and turned toward the door. "Go to hell."_

* * *

"I thought the prudent thing to do would be to go along with his demand." Hunter said.

Vera shrugged. "But hey, how do you know he wouldn't make a copy and hit you up for something else later, or just screw you over and release it anyway? Maybe you decided it was a hell of a lot more 'prudent' to throw Brian over the edge of a walkway."

Hunter shook his head quickly. "I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with that boy's death!"

Lilly leaned in closer. "So if we check the security logs and see if you entered the theater department building that night we won't find anything?"

Hunter was taken aback. "No! For one thing, the night that he died, I was at a fund-raising dinner with several other prominent academics. I gave a speech in front of two hundred people, for God's sake! Ask anyone who was there!"

"So maybe you don't like getting your hands dirty and had someone else do it for you." Lilly glared at Hunter.

"No, no!" Hunter pleaded. "I swear to you, I never told anyone about that tape!"

"Somebody sure found out about it." Vera said.

Lilly looked up with an idea. "What about Allison?"

Hunter looked over at her with disbelief. "Allison?"

"You did have a few late-night rendezvous with her in your office. Maybe she overheard you two that night."

"That's insane!" Hunter said. "I mean she wouldn't--" He stopped, as though suddenly remembering something.

"What?" Vera asked.

Hunter put his hand to his head. "Oh my God." He whispered.

"What?" Lilly asked more impatiently.

Hunter closed his eyes. "I keep a spare keycard in the top drawer of my desk. A few days after Brian's death, I noticed it was missing. I asked her about it and she admitted she took it because she'd lost hers. I didn't think anything of it at the time but..." He sighed.

Lilly nodded in acknowledgment and the two detectives started towards the exit.

"Listen," Hunter said smiling nervously. "I cooperated, so no one else needs to know about this, right?"

Lilly just shot him a glare as she walked out.

* * *

Allison flashed Lilly and Jeffries a smile as the two detectives walked into the editor's office.

"Hello again, Detectives." She said to Jeffries before turning to Lilly. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Lilly nodded with a smile. "Yes, we were just hoping to clear up some problems with the story you gave us."

Allison gave a puzzled look. "What problems?"

Lilly's smile faded slightly. "The fact that it was full of lies."

Allison's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"We know for a fact that you weren't seeing Brian at the time of his death, you were seeing Dr. Hunter." Lilly said. "Brian probably made for a good cover so no one suspected you were sleeping with a professor, but we have a tape that says otherwise."

"And the security logs have Dr. Hunter's keycard being used to enter the theater building at 7:30, a half hour before Brian was found dead." Jeffries added.

"Hunter has an alibi though." Lilly said. "You don't."

Allison leaned closer, concern in her eyes. "Detective, please. You have to believe me. I haven't been a perfect person. I've made some mistakes. One of them was not appreciating a sweet guy like Brian when I had him. But I'm the kind of person who would ever do something to hurt him."

Lilly just looked at her. She'd seen the pleading, innocent girl routine in her sister enough times not to be fazed by it. "I think you are, and I don't you really gave a damn about Brian, alive or dead, especially after you found out he knew about the two of you." Lilly turned to see Gary standing out in the main office looking at them, clearly looking troubled at what he saw.

Allison's look of concern slowly turned to one of contempt. "So, what? You think I pushed Brian over a walkway now? Is that it?"

Lilly looked at the small-framed Allison. Admittedly, it was hard to picture her pushing Brian over a railing by herself. She then looked back at Gary, who was now walking towards the office. "Maybe with a little help." Lilly said.

"What's going on?" Gary asked peeking into the office, looking nervous.

"Nothing." Allison said, glaring at Lilly and Jeffries. "These detectives were just leaving."

"Is this about--" Gary started.

"Not a word, Gary!" Allison snapped, holding up a finger at him.

"Your sister always seems to have your back, doesn't she?" Lilly looked at Gary.

Gary gave her a sad look and opened his mouth to say something before a glare from Allison silenced him

"You people couldn't even tell if that was an accident or not." Allison said, turning back to Lilly, a smug grin ruining her otherwise pretty face. "And if you think me or Gary are going to say anything, you're even stupider than Brian was. So have a real good time trying to prove anything."

_This isn't over._ Lilly thought. _You're not getting away with this._ She shot Allison a look that she made sure conveyed that and walked out.

* * *

The detectives sat around their office, with Stillman watching over them.

"I say we go after them." Scotty said. "We know they used the keycard to get in. We got motive, means, and opportunity."

"We've also got a death we still can't prove wasn't an accident." Jeffries said.

Kat looked up at Stillman. "What do you think, Lieutenant?"

Stillman shrugged. "I'll talk to the DA's office but without anything more than what we've got, I wouldn't get my hopes up."

The detectives traded looks of disappointment for a few seconds before Vera noticed the figure standing in the doorway and gestured to the others to look.

"Gary." Lilly said matter-of-factly as she stood up, careful not to betray her surprise.

Gary looked back at Lilly and the others, a tired look in his eyes. "Is there somewhere we can talk?" He asked.

* * *

Gary looked down at the table in the interview room while Lilly and Scotty looked back at him.

"My whole life, my sister's been watching out for me." Gary said. "I can't remember a thing I've ever had that she didn't help me get, which I guess means I've never gotten anything myself in my life." He gave Lilly and Scotty a glance, then continued. "One thing you need to know is Allison and Dr. Hunter were seeing each other long before I was up for that job, so it's not like she slept with him just to get me the job, not that she hasn't done that kind of thing before. I actually tried to convince Allison to go out with Brian. I thought if they started dating, she'd stop wanting to see Dr. Hunter. Instead she just started telling me what a great cover it would be."

"You and Allison found out about Brian's tape, didn't you?" Lilly said.

Gary lowered his head slightly and nodded. "Allison went back to his office to get something and heard the whole thing. She didn't want me losing that job so she decided we needed to get tape from him." He rolled his eyes. "So once again, I was counting on my sister to bail me out."

"That's why the two of you were at the theater building that night." Scotty said solemnly. "You were looking for the tape."

"Nothing was supposed to happen. We just wanted the tape. We didn't go there looking to hurt anyone. It was just..." Gary sighed. "...bad luck..."

* * *

_Brian stuffed the last of his papers in to his backpack and glanced at his watch. 7:30. If he hurried, he'd have just enough time to get over to his dorm room and change before meeting Debbie at the restaurant. _This is the girl of your dreams,_ he thought. _It isn't gonna look good to be late on your first date together.

_He heard a distant rumbling sound and looked up, before remembering it was supposed to rain that night. A moment later, he heard another noise, this time from inside, and turned around. Looking to see the source, he frowned as he saw Allison and Gary standing in the doorway, both slightly wet from the rain. "What the hell do you two want?" He sneered._

_"I want that tape." Allison said coldly._

_Brian cocked his head to one side. "Is that right?" He asked, looking her over. "Well, you and Hunter can have it when he gives Debbie back the job you two stole from her."_

_Gary shook his head and stepped closer. "That not gonna happen, man. Now just tell us where it is."_

_Brian looked at Gary and rolled his eyes. "Oh, what is this, the chemistry goon squad? Forget it, I'm not telling you anything!"_

_Allison looked at Brian for a moment, then stepped closer herself, smiling and caressing his arm. "Come on, Brian. Isn't there anything I can do to change your mind?"_

_Brian pushed her hand away and stared at her in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me. Everything you ever said to me was a lie."_

_Allison's smile quickly turned to a smug glare. "What? You didn't actually think you had a chance with me, did you? I mean you're 'hard-luck Halley', for God's sake. You were a pathetic loser in high school and you're still one now."_

_Brian just looked at her, his face impassive. "I cannot believe I ever actually liked you. You and Hunter deserve each other." Putting on his backpack, and zipping his jacket, he continued. "Now I've got places to be and better people to be with."_

_Gary's eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists. "I'm not kidding, man. We're not leaving here without that tape!"_

_Brian leaned in closer, getting in Gary's face. "Look this has been fun, but I'm leaving now and I'm not telling you anything." Brian hissed. "Now unless you want to get your ass kicked in front of your sister, I suggest you get out of my way."_

_Brian and Gary were the same height with Gary having a bit more mass. The look in Brian's eyes, however, made him look like he had at least another fifty pounds on him. The look continued until Gary gritted his teeth and stepped aside._

_Brian looked at Gary, shaking his head. "You're pathetic." He turned back to Allison. "Both of you." His point made, Brian nodded and walked out into the hallway, walking towards the stairs to the outside door. Allison and Gary looked at each other and followed him out._

_Brian glanced at his watch and broke into a half-walk, half-run, not realizing at first that Allison and Gary were rushing up behind him. The moment he noticed them, Gary grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around._

_"Gimme that tape, man!" Gary yelled, grabbing at his jacket pockets. "You got it on you, don't you?"_

_"Get off me!" Brian yelled, pushing him away, though Gary pushed back and started grabbing again, while Allison tried to open the zipper on his backpack._

_The struggle pushed Brian up against the railing of the walkway and his back began to curve back. Neither noticed this until his legs shot up. By the time Gary made a feeble attempt to grab Brian's leg, they'd already swung up and over the railing. They heard Brian let out a brief cry as he fell before it was cut short by a sickening thump below. Gary swallowed as Allison peered over the railing, her eyes made it clear what she'd seen, when she turned back to him._

_"Oh my God!" Gary whispered, his breathing getting heavier. "What are we going to do?"_

_Allison said nothing, though her eyes darted around the hallway until they came to rest on an open janitor's closet, a mop and bucket inside._

_She took a deep breath and walked over to the bucket. Making sure it was filled with water, she tucked her hands into her sleeves and took a hold of the bucket. "Give me a hand with this. Make sure you don't get any fingerprints on it." She said._

_"What?" Gary asked, not moving._

_Allison shot him an impatient look. "You want to go to jail?"_

_Gary shook his head nervously._

_"Then help me!"_

_Gary stood still for a moment, then walked over, tucking his hands in his sleeves, and grabbed a hold of the bucket. The two pushed it over to where Brian had fallen and Allison began shaking it. The water inside began to slosh around until larger and larger amounts began to spill out over the edge onto the floor. The two continued this for a minute, moving the bucket around the area until Allison gestured back to the janitor's closet._

_"There." Allison said coldly as they pushed the bucket back where they found it. "It's raining. The floor was wet and he slipped."_

_Gary squinted his eyes and looked at her. "What? Nobody's gonna believe that."_

_"Sure they will." Allison gestured to where Brian had fallen and gave a slight smile. "'Hard-luck Halley', remember?"_

_Gary didn't smile back. "What about the tape?"_

_Allison smile faded slightly but she remained calm. "Well he's not gonna be showing it to anyone now, is he?" She put a hand on her brother's arm. "It's all right. Everything's all right now." She looked towards the exit. "Let's get out of here."_

_As Allison rushed off, Gary stayed behind and looked over the railing. He had to see just once._

_Brian lay sprawled across the hallway floor, a pool of blood growing around his head. His lifeless eyes stared up at the second floor walkway from which he'd fallen and at Gary looking down on him from the walkway. _

_He heard Allison yell for him to come and ran off, leaving Brian alone..._

* * *

(Note: For the full effect, the end montage works best with the song "Fall to Pieces" by Avril Lavigne)

Gary sighed as Scotty handcuffed him and led him out of the interview room. Lilly noticed the surprisingly satisfied look on Gary's face. He'd paid a heavy price for it, but he was finally free of his sister's influence...

A large number of students gathered and watched as Lilly and Jeffries led Allison, also in handcuffs, out of the university towards a police car. Debbie emerged from the crowd and looked on with surprise when she saw who they were taking away. Allison looked up in time to see Debbie shoot her a look of disgust as she passed her by...

Placing the last item from his now-bare office into the box, Dr. Hunter picked it up and walked out, seeing glances and glares from students and staff as he passed them by. Walking out of the university, he wasn't thinking about where he could get a new job, even though the Dean had just fired him. Nor was he thinking about what he would say to his wife, even though she'd told him not to come home. Instead, he was trying to figure out which of those damned detectives had given them that tape...

Mike smiled at students passing him by in the hallways as he passed out pamphlets on local endangered wildlife. He turned to see Jamie looking at him, a mischievous smile on her face, holding up two tickets to the next Phillies game. The two laughed as Mike took her in his arms and leaned in for a kiss...

In the middle of an explanation to his class on camera placement, Tony Garcia stopped as he suddenly found himself thinking of Brian. Looking down at the ZR-20 on the table next to him, he smiled slightly and continued his lecture...

As Kat shut the lid on the case box marked "HALLEY, B. OCT '04, CLOSED on the side, Vera lifted it up and stacked it among the other cases, before the two of them walked off...

Debbie walked into Hurley's and looked around. Despite not having been in here for well over a year, little appeared to have changed. A moment later, she smiled as she spotted Mike and Jamie wave at her from the booth in the corner. The two stood up and embraced her in a hug when she reached their familiar table. Sitting down, the three friends quickly settled in to an evening of catching up and trading stories about Brian. As Mike recalled one amusing incident in the tenth grade which started Jamie laughing, Debbie looked over to see a familiar face standing a few tables away.

Brian gave Debbie a warm smile, which she readily returned, and looked over his friends one last time before walking off and fading away...

THE END


End file.
